1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph. We are in Amir and Emily’s apartment at Upper East Side, New York around 2012. The entire play is set in this apartment with no scene change but alludes to events that pertain to the play. They are both financially, stable working professionals so we are expected to see a well-put together apartment with exquisite style.
2. What is the intrusion? The intrusion that keeps the play going is the ideological difference between what Amir and Emily have on Islam and Amir’s heritage. The topic is subtle at first, but then the topic snowballs as Emily creates a piece of art that sparks a confrontation between the two that cannot be ignored and eventually boils over to other people in their life, for example Jory and Isaac.
3. What is the unique factor? The flipped-flopped points of views that Emily and Amir have on Islam. Emily takes the empathetic, liberal, politically correct view and has an artistic appreciation of the Islamic culture to the point that her art work is highly derived from Islamic techniques. Amir, on the other hand, takes the pessimistic side of the religion that only sees the hate and the historical reasoning for the creation of the religion that dominates his point of view it and fails to take on another perspective.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play? Will Emily’s art work become a success, and will others appreciate her point of view as well? Will Amir take on the Iman’s case and chose justice? Will Amir have a change of hear over his own culture?
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it. Emily and Isaac: That Emily has been holding a deep secret that only Isaac and Emily know which is that they had an affair in London that none of their spouses even know about. Jory and Isaac: That Jory and Isaac only know that Jory scored the Legal partnership that Amir really wanted, and that they withheld that information for a week from Amir.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be. There were A LOT of theatrical moments, but the number one moment for me was when Amir beats up his wife over the affair. I was incredibly shocked that he would succumb to that level over an affair that he should have known was doomed to happen. There was no indication, to me, that he would believe that hitting a woman was justifiable. Yes, he did mention the surah/ayah that mentioned wife beating with Isaac, but to me that wasn’t an indication that he justified it. The level of respect I had for him totally shattered, even though he was drunk when he did it.
7.List some of the themes of the play. Marriage is a working matter, learn to fight for what is right and what needs to die and lose your ego for it will kill you at the very end. There is a difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, society should never try to denounce it for it is one of the only ways that can hold us together as one on this very planet that we live on. Every culture in the history books has their own skeletons in their closets, clinging on to the past will not help fight for a brighter future. DO NOT HIT YOUR WIFE PERIOD.
8. What does the chief character want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of his getting what he wants? For Amir, he wants to live his own individual life as a career driven young professional without having his last name or skin color or heritage step in his way. The obstacles he faces, to me, are intangible and are all in his head. One of them believing that Islam was nothing but a religion that shaped a civilization of the past and should have no meaning in his life for it has done nothing but create a conflict in his own professional life. What he doesn’t understand is that his actions do not reflect his beliefs. He says that Islam practices hate and deceit but he is deceitful in his work for turning his back on the people who needed him the most, letting his ego get the best of him for trying to win over a religion conversation, and eventually leading him to beat up his wife over a one-night stand ( which FYI to me doesn’t classify as an affair for it wasn’t a continuous ). He essentially lacks human growth because he doesn’t make the distinction between human morality and religious beliefs. Therefore, at the end, to me it seems that he hasn’t grown all that much, and he never will.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play. I think the painting that Emily works on throughout the play is one that symbolizes the nurture and care of creating Islamic Art which shows a great sense of empathy and artistic appreciation that Emily truly carries throughout the play. The alcohol bottle represents the vices and lesser halves of the true characters that Amir and Isaac present themselves with the minute they drink. The apartment in it of itself is the marriage of a beautiful mosaic of two drastically different cultures that eventually fades away.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play. Family in this case is one that is multiracial and realistic to what the 21st century marriages looks like. Since there are no kids in this marriage, we cannot truly see the family values that are placed, but what I can say is that this family doesn’t stick “till death do they”. Like many plays that we have read, this one seems to have fallen apart easily compared to the other families who never part. For very good reason of course, but also due to it a 21st century marriage, it is quite common to see marriages fall apart.
1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph.
We are in Amir and Emily’s apartment at Upper East Side, New York around 2012. The entire play is set in this apartment with no scene change but alludes to events that pertain to the play. They are both financially, stable working professionals so we are expected to see a well-put together apartment with exquisite style.
2. What is the intrusion?
The intrusion that keeps the play going is the ideological difference between what Amir and Emily have on Islam and Amir’s heritage. The topic is subtle at first, but then the topic snowballs as Emily creates a piece of art that sparks a confrontation between the two that cannot be ignored and eventually boils over to other people in their life, for example Jory and Isaac.
3. What is the unique factor?
The flipped-flopped points of views that Emily and Amir have on Islam. Emily takes the empathetic, liberal, politically correct view and has an artistic appreciation of the Islamic culture to the point that her art work is highly derived from Islamic techniques. Amir, on the other hand, takes the pessimistic side of the religion that only sees the hate and the historical reasoning for the creation of the religion that dominates his point of view it and fails to take on another perspective.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
Will Emily’s art work become a success, and will others appreciate her point of view as well? Will Amir take on the Iman’s case and chose justice? Will Amir have a change of hear over his own culture?
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
Emily and Isaac: That Emily has been holding a deep secret that only Isaac and Emily know which is that they had an affair in London that none of their spouses even know about.
Jory and Isaac: That Jory and Isaac only know that Jory scored the Legal partnership that Amir really wanted, and that they withheld that information for a week from Amir.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
There were A LOT of theatrical moments, but the number one moment for me was when Amir beats up his wife over the affair. I was incredibly shocked that he would succumb to that level over an affair that he should have known was doomed to happen. There was no indication, to me, that he would believe that hitting a woman was justifiable. Yes, he did mention the surah/ayah that mentioned wife beating with Isaac, but to me that wasn’t an indication that he justified it. The level of respect I had for him totally shattered, even though he was drunk when he did it.
7.List some of the themes of the play.
Marriage is a working matter, learn to fight for what is right and what needs to die and lose your ego for it will kill you at the very end. There is a difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, society should never try to denounce it for it is one of the only ways that can hold us together as one on this very planet that we live on. Every culture in the history books has their own skeletons in their closets, clinging on to the past will not help fight for a brighter future. DO NOT HIT YOUR WIFE PERIOD.
8. What does the chief character want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of his getting what he wants?
For Amir, he wants to live his own individual life as a career driven young professional without having his last name or skin color or heritage step in his way. The obstacles he faces, to me, are intangible and are all in his head. One of them believing that Islam was nothing but a religion that shaped a civilization of the past and should have no meaning in his life for it has done nothing but create a conflict in his own professional life. What he doesn’t understand is that his actions do not reflect his beliefs. He says that Islam practices hate and deceit but he is deceitful in his work for turning his back on the people who needed him the most, letting his ego get the best of him for trying to win over a religion conversation, and eventually leading him to beat up his wife over a one-night stand ( which FYI to me doesn’t classify as an affair for it wasn’t a continuous ). He essentially lacks human growth because he doesn’t make the distinction between human morality and religious beliefs. Therefore, at the end, to me it seems that he hasn’t grown all that much, and he never will.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
I think the painting that Emily works on throughout the play is one that symbolizes the nurture and care of creating Islamic Art which shows a great sense of empathy and artistic appreciation that Emily truly carries throughout the play. The alcohol bottle represents the vices and lesser halves of the true characters that Amir and Isaac present themselves with the minute they drink. The apartment in it of itself is the marriage of a beautiful mosaic of two drastically different cultures that eventually fades away.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
Family in this case is one that is multiracial and realistic to what the 21st century marriages looks like. Since there are no kids in this marriage, we cannot truly see the family values that are placed, but what I can say is that this family doesn’t stick “till death do they”. Like many plays that we have read, this one seems to have fallen apart easily compared to the other families who never part. For very good reason of course, but also due to it a 21st century marriage, it is quite common to see marriages fall apart.